Never Ending
by Tiffany Arnett
Summary: Calleigh takes care of Natalia after she's been kidnapped and injured in a car accident. Set after "About Face." I don't own the characters or the episode's plot line.


Natalia was sitting in the locker room. The last day of the case took a toll on her. Her shoulder was in extreme pain, but she wasn't going to let anyone else know that. Everyone thought she had been crazy to believe Patrick was innocent of those murders, but she knew something had not added up right. She trusted her instinct and thus solved the case for both murders. She was in such deep thought she didn't hear the door open and the click clack of heels approaching her.

"Good job today, Natalia." Calleigh exclaimed. Natalia jumped at the blonde's voice and relaxed quickly. "I'm sorry for startling you."

"You're fine." Natalia responded. She got up from the bench and grabbed her purse out of her locker. She went to reach for her jacket when she felt a sudden stab of pain go through her shoulder. She hissed as she dropped her purse and slumped back onto the bench. Worried, Calleigh sat down next to Natalia and put her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Hey, what's wrong? Do you want to see a doctor?" She asked. Natalia took a deep breath and shook her head.

"No, I'm alright. It's just a bit sore." She lied. It was in fact in quite a lot of pain. She had turned down pain medication at the hospital and refused other treatment so she could solve the case. She was highly regretting it now.

"No, you're not." Calleigh said sternly. She was staring at her friend as Natalia was trying to hide the pain. "You're in pain, Nat."

"It's just been a long day. I'll be okay after a hot shower and some rest." Natalia assured her friend and tried standing up again. She suddenly got dizzy and Calleigh helped her sit back down.

"You shouldn't be alone tonight. Do you have anyone that could stay with you until you're feeling better?" Calleigh asked. Natalia glanced at her friend and looked away, shaking her head.

"Christine has a family and Anya is out of town. I'll be okay Cal, but thank you for being concerned." Natalia replied honestly. She felt good that Calleigh was so concerned with her. They had begun to become close friends for the last couple of years. She really appreciated Calleigh's friendship and she enjoyed spending time with the blonde. Calleigh's hand was placed back on her good shoulder and Calleigh smiled at her.

"Stay with me, then. I don't mind. I'm worried about you being alone." Calleigh offered. Natalia hesitated. She didn't want to be an imposition on her friend, but she saw in Calleigh's green eyes that she was being sincere and really wanted Natalia to stay with her. Natalia gave a weak smile and nodded.

"If you're okay with it." She said. Calleigh nodded and gave Natalia one of her famous megawatt smiles.

"Of course! I'll swing you by your place to pick up some clothes and then I'll drive us to my place." Calleigh said happily. She grabbed her things and helped Natalia off the bench. The two of them happily walked towards the exit, both thinking of what wonders the night would bring.

Calleigh had done as she promised and ran Natalia by her place to pick up some clothes. Natalia's arm was so sore she could no longer use it even a little. Calleigh helped her place some clothes in a bag and other essentials before returning to Calleigh's car. As Natalia got in, Calleigh put her things in the trunk and then drove them to Calleigh's house. The two of them ate dinner together, laughing and talking as they finished dinner. The two of them got along well and Natalia was so happy she almost forgot her shoulder was in pain. She tried to help Calleigh do the dishes, but Calleigh insisted Natalia sit on the couch while she finishes. Natalia sat on the couch with her legs pulled under her, listening as her friend finished washing the dishes.

She laid her head back and closed her eyes as her thoughts ran from her. She imagined Calleigh coming over to her. She would bend over Natalia and slowly claim Natalia's lips with her own. She pressed her hand against… _Woah!_ Natalia thought. She quickly opened her eyes and felt her heartrate racing. She took a deep breath. _Stop it, Natalia! Calleigh is your friend. And only your friend_ , she thought to herself. She heard Calleigh finish with the dishes and heard her come around the corner and sit on the other end of the couch. Natalia glanced over her friend. She noticed Calleigh looked tired, but she was still beautiful. As she was glancing at her friend, Calleigh glanced up and Natalia quickly looked away.

"Thanks for dinner, Cal. It was delicious!" Natalia mentioned. Calleigh gave out a small, tired laugh.

"I enjoyed it. I really mean it. I'm not used to eating dinner with anyone." Calleigh admitted. Natalia gave Calleigh a gentle smile and nodded in agreement.

"Me neither." She said. Calleigh then let out a large yawn, which Natalia found extremely adorable. She smiled at her blonde friend and moved to stand up.

"It's bedtime." She giggled as she saw the blonde wipe her eyes. Calleigh gave a half smile as she got up, too. Calleigh led them to the spare bedroom she was letting Natalia use.

"Everything you need to shower with is in the bathroom for you. If you need anything, just let me know." Calleigh said with a smile. She yawned again as she turned around and allowed for Natalia to get comfortable. Natalia glanced around and nodded to herself, thinking a shower was a very good idea. She walked into the bathroom and found everything sitting out for her. She mentally thanked Calleigh and began to attempt undressing. As she tried to get rid of her clothes, she realized something: it was too difficult to do this with one hand. She groaned and struggled trying to take off her clothes with no avail. She was extremely embarrassed about what she was about to do. She stuck her head out of the door.

"Calleigh?" She called out. After a few moments, she heard a sleepy voice reply.

"Are you okay?" Calleigh called out. She heard quick footsteps coming down the hallway. The blonde came around the corner to see Natalia looking down at the floor.

"I have a really embarrassing problem." Natalia admitted, still looking down at the floor. Calleigh gave a small smile and pushed open the door. She knew Natalia needed help with her clothes.

"It's okay. Come on." She said warmly. Natalia stood awkwardly in the middle of the bathroom as Calleigh carefully began to unbutton her. She looked around the room and missed the slight change in breathing from the blonde. Calleigh nervously fumbled with the buttons and mentally cursed herself for being so clumsy. Natalia felt the shaking hands trying to take off her clothes and allowed her mind to wander possible reasons for the famous Bullet Girl to be nervous. Calleigh finally managed to get her pants unbutton and closed her eyes out of respect for her friend as she pulled them down her legs so she could step out of them. She helped pull her shirt up over her friend's head and they both took a deep breath as Calleigh slowly unhooked Natalia's bra in the back. The tension that filled the air was almost unbearable as Calleigh turned away and reopened her eyes. She could feel the heat in her cheeks, as could Natalia. Neither woman knew how much the other desperately wanted to touch the other. Trying to regain herself, Calleigh smiled nervously and walked to the door.

"If you need anything, let me know." She said with a shaky voice. Natalia cleared her throat and nodded.

"Thanks. I mean it Calleigh. Thank you for everything." Natalia responded. Calleigh closed the door behind her as Natalia turned on the hot water for her shower.

Natalia stood under the hot water and allowed it to wash her pain away and the negative thoughts from today. She had been kidnapped and even though she now knows he would not have hurt her, the thought still frightens her. She raised her arms to wash her hair and felt a jolt shoot through her body as she quickly remembered the pain her shoulder was in. She dropped the shampoo bottle and before she knew it, she was on her back in the tub with a knot now growing upon her head. She heard footsteps quickly approach the bathroom and the door swing open so hard it hit the wall. Calleigh's face appeared as she pulled back the curtain to find Natalia moaning at the bottom of the tub.

"Natalia! Are you okay? Oh my god!" She babbled as she reached down to help her friend up. Natalia was in pain and completely forgot that she was bare naked in front of Calleigh Duquesne. Calleigh pulled a towel around her and helped her dry off as Natalia sat on the toilet seat holding her head with her good arm.

"I'm so sorry Cal. I hope I didn't wake you." She whispered as Calleigh begun to inspect Natalia's knot on her head. She fervently shook her head and stared into Natalia's eyes.

"You scared me." She informed the brunette with a lot of emotion in her eyes. Natalia's head fell in shame as the blonde continued to stare at her.

"I'm sorry Cal." Natalia repeated. Calleigh leaned over and against her better judgment, kissed Natalia's forehead. She pulled Natalia close to her and rubbed her bare back as Natalia quickly remembered that she was naked and she was becoming very aroused. She cleared her throat and reluctantly pulled back from the blonde's embrace. She pulled the towel over her and gave a weak smile.

"I guess my shower is over. Thank you for helping me." She quietly stated. Calleigh held out her hand to help Natalia off of the toilet seat. Natalia adjusted the towel and followed Calleigh into the next room where she was already getting Natalia's pajamas together. The two were silent as Calleigh helped her into the pajamas and tucked her into bed. Natalia felt silly for making Calleigh do so much for her, but she also secretly enjoyed it. After Natalia was tucked in, Calleigh sat down next to her friend and stared at her.

"I probably shouldn't let you sleep in case you have a concussion." She mentioned. Natalia gave a half smile to her friend.

"It's okay. I have a hard head." She replied. Her response made Calleigh smile. Calleigh gave a large yawn and her eyes were becoming heavy.

"Get some rest Nat. Please, let me know if you need anything." Calleigh told her friend as she yawned again. Natalia thought it was adorable and took this chance to keep Calleigh in her company.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" She asked Calleigh. "The kidnapping got me a little shaken up and I would feel better with you here." She added. Calleigh gave her a warm smile and pulled the blankets up so she could crawl underneath them while Natalia scooted over. Calleigh rested her head on the pillow and placed her hand on Natalia's shoulder.

"For comfort." She mumbled as she quickly drifted off into dreamland. Natalia placed her hand over Calleigh's and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep as well.

Natalia woke up in the morning with an interesting feeling. Calleigh's head now rested on her good shoulder while her arm was draped over Natalia's stomach. She felt Calleigh's leg entwined with her own and she smiled inside, forgetting the nervousness she should be feeling. She took the moment to gaze at her friend. Calleigh's golden hair glowed in the early morning sunlight. Her soft, pale skin looked even paler against Natalia's darker skin. Natalia absent-mindedly used her free hand to brush some hair out of Calleigh's face. She smiled as she heard Calleigh sigh in her sleep. It was an amazing sight to see Bullet Girl like this and she didn't want to give it up, but Calleigh's awakening was cutting her gazing short. Her blue eyes drifted open and she glanced up at Natalia's face. Once she registered how they were resting Calleigh quickly jumped up, embarrassed.

"Oh god, I'm sorry Natalia. I didn't know I had done that." She mumbled as she scrambled to get untangled from Natalia. Natalia used this moment to make known her feelings. The sight of Calleigh that morning took her breath away and if she could see that side of her more often, Natalia was going to take the chance to see it again. She wrapped her good arm around Calleigh and held her to her gently.

"Please, stay like this with me." She murmured. Calleigh froze and stared down into Natalia's brown eyes. She relaxed and cuddled back up to Natalia, who wrapped her arm around Calleigh's waist. Calleigh laid her head back on Natalia's shoulder and glanced up at her friend.

"Are you sure?" Calleigh asked, knowing what Natalia had really meant. Natalia gave a nod and kissed the blonde's head.

"I don't want this to end." She replied.


End file.
